Marketing News Writers’ Guidelines
Marketing News, a monthly business magazine, brings its readers everything that’s new in marketing. Typical subscribers are well-educated marketing executives, marketing managers, marketing researchers and marketing educators.
Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome, although submission is always on speculation. Most articles run as part of our coverage of Knowledge Base topics cited on Marketing News’ editorial calendar or as point-of-view articles written by experts in their particular field. We also actively solicit bylined articles for the four special-focus issues, detailed on the editorial calendar.
When articles are rejected, it’s usually because: (1) We’ve already covered the material, or (2) Because the article essentially pitches the author’s product or services rather than focusing on trends and issues of interest to marketers in general.
Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions about writing for Marketing News.
- How long should my article be?
A thousand words, tops.
- Will you edit my article?
You bet.
- Will I get to see it before you publish it?
No. Our production schedule doesn’t allow for author review—no exceptions.
- Will you pay me for the article?
No.
- Will you publish my company’s e-mail or Web address or my personal e-mail or Web address?
We will publish a company’s full name and the respective city and state at the end of the article. In the case of a guest column (Viewpoint), we include an e-mail and photo.
- Instead of submitting the article, can I submit an outline?
No, please finish the article and submit that.
- Is it all right to include charts, graphs or other artwork with the article?
Yes, although they might not be published even if the article is. Make sure they contain information that complements the text of the article. (Important note: If your chart contains Greek symbols or advanced mathematical equations, that’s a pretty good sign that your article is better suited for an academic or peer-review publication. You may want to consider contacting one of the AMA’s journals or specialty magazines.)
- Can I get extra copies of the issue my article appears in?
We’ll send you two print copies and a pdf, by request.
- I had an article published in another magazine/a local newspaper/my company’s newsletter. Can I submit it to you?
Marketing News will copyright whatever it publishes; there are absolutely no exceptions. Submitting an article that’s run elsewhere raises complicated copyright issues. Besides, the contract all authors have to sign gives the AMA the rights of first publication. And, of course, we want our readers to be the first to read articles that have something new to say about marketing.
Some definitions.
A note on what we mean by “published”: An article is considered previously published if it was posted on a Web site, or circulated by e-mail or snail-mail, even if the recipients were a small, well-defined group such as clients.
Now, if an article has been published before, but has been completely or substantially rewritten before it is submitted to Marketing News, we’ll consider it. If not, we won’t. (What do we mean by “substantially?” Ask yourself, if the newer version of the article were to appear under somebody else’s byline, would you consider it plagiarism? If so, then you have some more rewriting to do.)
The definition of “published” is changing as the courts reinterpret the term, and Marketing News’ policies are written to stay abreast of the latest legal standards in publishing. There are no exceptions.
Now for some don’ts:
Don’t write “journal style” with the conclusion at the end of the article. Put it at the beginning.
Don’t use footnotes, endnotes, or lists of references. Articles containing these will not be considered. If your article cites previous works on the same topics that means your article is not news.
Don’t call and say, “I’d like to write an article. What do you need?” When we need an article, we assign it to a staff writer or professional freelancer. If yours is an important point that needs to be made, write it up and send in your story.
Other important things
We reserve the right to reject any article at any time.
Upon submission to the AMA, photographs, manuscripts and other physical materials (not the creative content or the right to use that content) belong to the AMA, and will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, adequately stamped envelope. We cannot guarantee that those returned will be in pristine condition.
All writers whose articles are accepted must sign AMA copyright forms. By doing so writers are saying they’re the sole owners of the material and it’s original, and they grant the American Marketing Association, which publishes Marketing News, rights regarding their material, including rights to edit, retitle, and reprint it and grant permission to others to reprint it. After evaluating your article, we’ll send you a copyright form if we decide to accept it.
Submit articles to: Managing Editor, Marketing News, 311 S. Wacker Drive, Suite 5800, Chicago, IL 60606 or via e-mail to editor@ama.org.